SUBIC, Zambales — Filipino Grandmaster Eugene Torre yesterday defeated Fide Master Novita Anjas of Indonesia to share the lead with 14 others after two rounds of the Chairman Prospero Pichay Cup.
The 13th-seeded Torre nailed his second straight win with black in the nine-round, Swiss-system tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
“May pagka drawish y’ung laro. Kaso nag blunder siya (Novita Anjas) sa end game kaya sinamantala ko na,” said the 59-year-old Torre, who is looking for another solid performance here after a runner-up finish in Indonesia’s Telin Open Chess Tournament last April.
GM Torre, Asia’s first Grandmaster, bested Ben Polao in Thursday’s opening round. He will battle GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore in the third. The Singaporean stunned Zeng Chongseng of China in their second-round duel.
Also with 2.0 points are GM Mark Paragua, GM Darwin Laylo, GM John Paul Gomez and IM Richard Bitoon of the Philippines, GM Xu Jun, GM Wen Yang, GM Li Shilong, Lu Shanglei, Yu Ruiyuan and Wan Cheng of China, GM David Arutinian of Georgia, GM Cerdas Barus and IM Halay Taufik of Indonesia.
Paragua routed NM Emmanuel Senador, Laylo nipped WGM Irine Sukandar Kharisma of Indonesia, Gomez trounced IM Yves Ranola, Bitoon beat Guo Qi of China, Xu smashed FM Haridas Pascua, Wen outclassed IM Kim Steven Yap, Li crushed FM Jony Habla, Lu waylaid countryman Wang Jue of China, Yu defeated Ahmad Morsalim, Wan drubbed Emmanuel Emperado, Arutinian clobbered IM Oliver Dimakiling, Barus outplayed WFM Zhai Mo of China, and Taufik defeated IM Oliver Barbosa.
Tournament director is newly appointed NCFP executive director and Olympian GM Jayson Gonzales while chief arbiter is IA Gene Poliarco.